My conference standout was definitely Peter O’Connor. I have recommended him to others and will rewatch his keynote. I loved his philosophy that students need us to teach Empathy and Hopefulness. In our current world this is needed more than anything. He spoke of how this has the potential to be the antidote to war. Peter’s passion for the role of the Arts is so important and the power of engagement, problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity the arts provides is essential. His exercises around imagination I found inspiring and thought provoking.
One of the practical workshops I will take into my teaching practice was Kirthana Selvaraj: Figurative Expressions. I didn’t realise it was oil painting which generally I am not a fan of, but I really enjoyed it. The limited colour palette was great as we literally made our own black! It made me see that this is possible in the classroom, as I have some yr 9 painters I would like to extend with this medium. The process reminded me of Wayne Thiebaud using blues as shadows. I was surprised how well the oils blended and I expected it to be a much slower process, I didn’t think this could be completed in an hour.
Of course catching up with everyone was great and responding to the keynote’s together was so much more rewarding than if you did it at home alone.
Seascape 2
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Pigmented ink
Dimension: 40cm x 50cm x 5cm
Price: $ 190.00
Artist Statement:
These seascapes were inspired by Casuarina beach. With a focus on process, I enjoyed the colour and unexpected results that the pigmented ink provided, and I will be using this technique with my classes.
Seascape 1
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Pigmented ink
Dimension: 40cm x 50cm x 5cm
Price: $ 190.00
Artist Statement:
These seascapes were inspired by the beautiful Casuarina beach. With a focus on process, I enjoyed the colour and unexpected results that the pigmented ink provided, and I will be using this technique with my classes.
My sculpture
Artwork Title: My sculpture
Artist: Joash Ron
Artist Statement:
My mythological pirate canine
John
Artwork Title: John
Artist: Wil Cooling
Artist Statement:
I love the beatles
diana
Artwork Title: diana
Artist: Kaitlyn Tuason
Artist Statement:
Such an icon
Marshmallow
Artwork Title: Marshmallow
Artist: Wil Cooling
Artist Statement:
My favourite DJ
Kobe
Artwork Title: Kobe
Artist: Christiano sucaldito
Artist Statement:
I love basketball and drawing
NVAEC24
The 2024 NVA conference was even more inspiring than I had anticipated. My highlights were Tony Albert’s keynote, the workshops, “repositioning our schools” by Pasi Sahlberg (on the state of education today and big picture learning) and Wonderschool at the Columbus Museum of Art. This project places preschoolers and preservice educators in the gallery and museum environment as “upstanders” of the community. I thought this was such a brilliant concept and creates a setting where adults can learn lessons from tiny little humans. Critical thinking encourages creativity here and these are skills of the future which lie in Art education, an area I am very passionate about. Creativity is a starting point for innovation, which is why Art is an increasingly important subject in our rapidly changing world. The workshops I selected were based around creative starting points and drawing connections in the gallery, which have inspired me to do things differently with my students, and, at times, allow process to be emphasized instead of finished products, in order to allow deeper learning without fear of failures and the ability to learn through experience and others, collaboratively. I will definitely take these lessons into my classroom immediately, and they are a stimulating way to start the year.
I need to live this art life!
‘I need to live this art life!’ was a quote from Kirli Saunders, a speaker on the final panel. It sums up this awesome conference with even more awesome NT participants! This is now a highlight of the year, which never disappoints. The goodie boxes are so exciting and Patricia Piccinini was so lovely to start off the program. Her questioning of what it is to be human is beautiful and I love showing her sculptures to my students, so it was fabulous to hear her talk about her own work this way and HOW she actually creates. I loved the workshops I picked and my big takeaway was be aware of camera angles distorting size, as on day one our clay sculptures were a bit too big. John Goh from Merrylands primary touched my soul in how he valued art in education, and his life changing excursions to the MCA. Highly recommend this fabulous opportunity to others next year. Thank you so much for this AENT 🥰
Cephalopods 10
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Clay and oxide
Dimension: 16cm x 15cm x 6cm
Price: $ 50.00
Artist Statement:
These ammonites and prehistoric shellfish have been designed to hang and showcase air plants. Cephalopods and Tillandsias both lived in the Cretaceous Period (145-65 million years ago), so I wanted them to coexist despite being from sea and land. My family is fascinated by the diverse designs of these fossils. I have been experimenting with garden art and pushing the boundaries of the traditional terracotta pot, one of our most ancient forms of pottery.
(Tillandsias not included)
Cephalopods 9
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Clay and oxide
Dimension: 15cm x 15cm x 7cm
Price: $ 40.00
Artist Statement:
These ammonites and prehistoric shellfish have been designed to hang and showcase air plants. Cephalopods and Tillandsias both lived in the Cretaceous Period (145-65 million years ago), so I wanted them to coexist despite being from sea and land. My family is fascinated by the diverse designs of these fossils. I have been experimenting with garden art and pushing the boundaries of the traditional terracotta pot, one of our most ancient forms of pottery.
(Tillandsias not included)
Cephalopods 8
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Clay and oxide
Dimension: 25cm x 15cm x 6cm
Price: $ 40.00
Artist Statement:
These ammonites and prehistoric shellfish have been designed to hang and showcase air plants. Cephalopods and Tillandsias both lived in the Cretaceous Period (145-65 million years ago), so I wanted them to coexist despite being from sea and land. My family is fascinated by the diverse designs of these fossils. I have been experimenting with garden art and pushing the boundaries of the traditional terracotta pot, one of our most ancient forms of pottery.
(Tillandsias not included)
Cephalopods 7
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Clay and oxide
Dimension: 20cm x 6cm x 4cm
Price: $ 50.00
Artist Statement:
These ammonites and prehistoric shellfish have been designed to hang and showcase air plants. Cephalopods and Tillandsias both lived in the Cretaceous Period (145-65 million years ago), so I wanted them to coexist despite being from sea and land. My family is fascinated by the diverse designs of these fossils. I have been experimenting with garden art and pushing the boundaries of the traditional terracotta pot, one of our most ancient forms of pottery.
(Tillandsias not included)
Cephalopods 6
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Clay and oxide
Dimension: 20cm x 10cm x 3cm
Price: $ 30.00
Artist Statement:
These ammonites and prehistoric shellfish have been designed to hang and showcase air plants. Cephalopods and Tillandsias both lived in the Cretaceous Period (145-65 million years ago), so I wanted them to coexist despite being from sea and land. My family is fascinated by the diverse designs of these fossils. I have been experimenting with garden art and pushing the boundaries of the traditional terracotta pot, one of our most ancient forms of pottery.
(Tillandsias not included)
Cephalopods 5
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Clay and oxide
Dimension: 11cm x 11cm x 3cm
Price: $ 40.00
Artist Statement:
These ammonites and prehistoric shellfish have been designed to hang and showcase air plants. Cephalopods and Tillandsias both lived in the Cretaceous Period (145-65 million years ago), so I wanted them to coexist despite being from sea and land. My family is fascinated by the diverse designs of these fossils. I have been experimenting with garden art and pushing the boundaries of the traditional terracotta pot, one of our most ancient forms of pottery.
(Tillandsias not included)
Cephalopods 4
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Clay and oxide
Dimension: 12cm x 12cm x 4cm
Price: $ 40.00
Artist Statement:
These ammonites and prehistoric shellfish have been designed to hang and showcase air plants. Cephalopods and Tillandsias both lived in the Cretaceous Period (145-65 million years ago), so I wanted them to coexist despite being from sea and land. My family is fascinated by the diverse designs of these fossils. I have been experimenting with garden art and pushing the boundaries of the traditional terracotta pot, one of our most ancient forms of pottery.
(Tillandsias not included)
Cephalopods 3
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Clay and oxide
Dimension: 12cm x 12cm x 4cm
Price: $ 30.00
Artist Statement:
These ammonites and prehistoric shellfish have been designed to hang and showcase air plants. Cephalopods and Tillandsias both lived in the Cretaceous Period (145-65 million years ago), so I wanted them to coexist despite being from sea and land. My family is fascinated by the diverse designs of these fossils. I have been experimenting with garden art and pushing the boundaries of the traditional terracotta pot, one of our most ancient forms of pottery.
(Tillandsias not included)
Cephalopods 2
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Clay and oxide
Dimension: 10cm x 14cm x 5cm
Price: $ 30.00
Artist Statement:
These ammonites and prehistoric shellfish have been designed to hang and showcase air plants. Cephalopods and Tillandsias both lived in the Cretaceous Period (145-65 million years ago), so I wanted them to coexist despite being from sea and land. My family is fascinated by the diverse designs of these fossils. I have been experimenting with garden art and pushing the boundaries of the traditional terracotta pot, one of our most ancient forms of pottery.
(Tillandsias not included)
Cephalopods 1
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Clay and oxide
Dimension: 10cm x 10cm x 3cm
Price: $ 30.00
Artist Statement:
These ammonites and prehistoric shellfish have been designed to hang and showcase air plants. Cephalopods and Tillandsias both lived in the Cretaceous Period (145-65 million years ago), so I wanted them to coexist despite being from sea and land. My family is fascinated by the diverse designs of these fossils. I have been experimenting with garden art and pushing the boundaries of the traditional terracotta pot, one of our most ancient forms of pottery.
(Tillandsias not included)
Drake
Artwork Title: Drake
Artist: Ava Coonan-Erlandson
Artist Statement:
My first charcoal portrait
Boat on the water
Artwork Title: Boat on the water
Artist: Theodora ellinas
Artist Statement:
I was experimenting with oil pastel
Dragon sculpture
Artwork Title: Dragon sculpture
Artist: arasya Fateha Turner
Artist Statement:
Dragons have been created in cultures all over the world
Dragon
Artwork Title: Dragon
Artist: Arshdip Kaur
Artist Statement:
We have been sculpting and drawing dragons
Ice Spice
Artwork Title: Ice Spice
Artist: Nadia Pereira-Mohamed Pereira-Mohamed
Artist Statement:
I love her songs and her hair
Blob fish
Artwork Title: Blob fish
Artist: Glory Nice
Artist Statement:
I really wanted to create an unusual fish for my ceramic work
Zart conference reflection
The highlight speaker for me was artist Julie Rrap. I considered myself quite familiar with her work however this presentation gave me so much information about works from her various exhibitions which really helped me understand her and value the work even more. I found her concepts so inspiring, particularly the way her work chronicles an aging woman in its self-portrait style, which brings another layer of meaning to the pieces. One of these recent works, Write Me (2022) had a powerful quote: “when we are silentwe are still afraid, so we are better to speak.”
Having picked two sculptural workshopsI thoroughly enjoyed doing these with other members of the AENT and would not have found them as satisfying by myself. Being able to exchange ideas and laugh with small failures meant this exercise was even more rewarding. One of the takeaways from the talks for me was that in teaching Art you can inspire and teach techniquesbut students need to find the drive within, so an important part of this process is to “create desire in oneself”- self motivation, and help students to do this. “You can’t use up creativity, the more you use the more you have.” (Maya Anderson)
Another quote which I found powerful was: “creativity is the process of using imagination and critical thinking to generate new ideas that have value.” This was the final speaker of the conference who also highlighted that non creativebehaviouris learned.
I loved these two days of professional development and will definitely try to participate next year.
Cnidaria
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Illustrated jewellery
Dimension: 4.5cm x 2.5cm x 1cm
Price: $ 49.00
Artist Statement:
Jellyfish get a bad rap in the NT, but my kids have helped me rediscover their beauty, and introduced me to the Immortal Jellyfish. It’s possible one may have been alive since long before the dinosaurs, and will live potentially forever! I have tried to express the fragility and individuality of these amazing creatures through a range of unique species found around the world.
Rick rolled
Artwork Title: Rick rolled
Artist: Lovely janel Gurtiza
Artist Statement:
My first grid method drawing in charcoal
Olivia
Artwork Title: Olivia
Artist: Brooklyn Radovic
Artist Statement:
Love this movie
Basketball
Artwork Title: Basketball
Artist: Lachlan Kelly
Artist Statement:
I didn’t think I could draw
Bob
Artwork Title: Bob
Artist: Lovely Janel Gurtiza
Artist Statement:
I just discovered Bob Ross on YouTube
Orb
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Mosaic
Dimension: 24cm x 25cm x 25cm
Price: $ 275.00
Artist Statement:
Having been spending more time at home in the garden, I wanted to experiment with mosaic sculptures.
Untitled
Artwork Title: Untitled
Artist: Lana Kuo
Artist Statement:
Oil pastel
Emu
Artwork Title: Emu
Artist: Alysha Hayward-Ryan
Artist Statement:
I added a peacock inspired background
Riding
Artwork Title: Riding
Artist: Cody Stamp
Artist Statement:
This is one of my idols.
Mandala
Artwork Title: Mandala
Artist: Sara Bertschi
Artist Statement:
No statement
Untitled
Artwork Title: Untitled
Artist: Ariele Deeks
Artist Statement:
I was experimenting with paint after completing my portrait drawings
Kamahi Dogs
Artist: kim boardman
Mediums: Paper clay
Dimension: 20cm x 30cm x 20cm
Artist Statement:
Kamahi’s workshop sculpting dogs was lots of fun
In my garden
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: collage and assemblage
Dimension: 30cm x 30cm x 4cm
Artist Statement:
I love experimenting with new mediums to use with my students. My garden is visited regularly by many birds so they continually inspire me. We are so lucky to have such amazing wildlife in Darwin and I want to remind people not to take them for granted and to protect their habitat.
Yarn Possum
Artwork Title: Yarn Possum
Artist: Nadia Thompson-Anabtawi
Artist Statement:
I made this “yarn painting” with our American student teacher
warhol
Artwork Title: warhol
Artist: Charlotte Chen
Artist Statement:
I made this portrait of the king of pop using artline pen
Tupac
Artwork Title: Tupac
Artist: Anon Anon
Artist Statement:
Tupac has been a real inspiration to me
Friends
Artwork Title: Friends
Artist: Janelle Beer
Artist Statement:
My composition portrays the trust in friendship
untitled
Artwork Title: untitled
Artist: Maya Jarvis
Artist Statement:
This is my experimental watercolour composition
Girl in love
Artwork Title: Girl in love
Artist: Lin ANON
Artist Statement:
I was inspired by Roy Lichentstein and the habit of heart of love
Dino
Artwork Title: Dino
Artist: Charlotte Chen
Artist Statement:
This was a doodle in my art diary which came to life
Succulent
Artwork Title: Succulent
Artist: Riley Donnelly
Artist Statement:
This is my Pop Culture Cacti
Jellyfish
Artwork Title: Jellyfish
Artist: Charlotte ANON
Artist Statement:
I was experimenting with watercolour techniques
mates
Artwork Title: mates
Artist: Joe ANON
Artist Statement:
I was portraying the habit of heart of trust
Waterbirds 2
Artist: Kim
Mediums: Driftwood
Dimension: 20cm x 30cm x 20cm
Artist Statement:
(See other)
Waterbirds
Artist: Kim Boardman
Mediums: Driftwood
Dimension: 34cm x 30cm x 20cm
Artist Statement:
I love the weathered wood that washes up on Darwin beaches. This is my first experiment putting it together and my wooden fish turned into birds. That’s what I love about this medium, it takes on its own form.